Well, we welcome you to our afternoon praise service today. It's good to see you. We want to give you a couple of announcements. And first of all, to say a word of thanks to everyone who participated in bringing all the delicious food and the variety of food that we enjoyed today. It was a real blessing. I think I needed a wide-angle lens on my phone to take some of the photographs of some of the deacons in the church here. Their plates were well-filled, and that's good. They were enjoying themselves, and that is a great blessing. Welcome to everyone today. We're happy that you're able to be with us. I mentioned about Dana and Lisa's sister, Kiara, is with us today, and her husband, Daniel, and little one, Teddy, and that we welcome them. They are living in Taiwan. And one dear brother said today, where are these people from? Sorry, sorry, Thailand. What was that? Did I say sister? Sorry, Lisa. Well, you're just a bit younger. Just count that as a blessing. You're not as old as you thought you were. Yes, so we're happy to have these folks here with us today and also a couple of others. You remember the outreach that took place at Tapscott just last Saturday it was. Well, we're very happy that Miriam is with us today from that outreach, one of the mothers, and that's very encouraging. And also we have June-Anne who is with us as well today, and she is June's niece. I think I have that right. June's niece, very good. That's excellent. Well, we're happy that you've all been here today. As far as the services this week are concerned, there are no meetings in the church, but next Lord's Day, next Sunday, There'll be no Sunday school, but we will have the morning service at 11 and the evening service at 6.30. And so those folks joining us online, we hope you'll just take note of those services as well. Thank you for your prayers. We will be, Lord willing, traveling down to visit our family. in the U.S., spending some time with them over the Christmas holidays. Brother Siman will be preaching next Lord's Day, and then the one after that, Brother Andre Lyons will be taking the evening service. And do remember all of these folks in your prayers, and also remembering our churches that are in part of our denomination. and remembering Reverend Cranston in Port Hope. He's retired now, of course, but his health has not been very good, and I know he would greatly appreciate your prayers. So many things we have reason to give thanks for. Last Wednesday evening, at the conclusion of our prayer meeting, we spent just 15 minutes and allowed folks to communicate reasons they had to give thanks to the Lord. maybe some blessing that they have experienced. And of course, that applies to all of us in one way or another. And yet some are a little bit more bashful, not wanting to come necessarily to the forefront to speak. But we know that that is something that we all in our hearts who know Christ daily. and monthly and annually come back to say how much the Lord has done for us. And you know, we talk sometimes about this earth being a veil of tears. And for some folks, they bear heavy burdens. And some seem to bear heavier burdens than others. And we might not be able to enter in totally to those things. But friend, whatever your circumstances, know this, that the Lord understands every minute detail. And indeed, in His providential and sovereign plan, He has allowed in our lives whatsoever comes to pass. So let us have trust in Him. Let us wait upon the Lord and be confident and be certain that His will is being done in our lives. I also remind you about our daily Bible reading calendar for this incoming year. They are on the table at the back as you leave. Let me encourage you to take one of these. If you have different members of the family, take one each. Everyone should have their own. That's the best way to go through it because from January the 1st, there are specific portions of the Bible that when you read them, you can acknowledge before the Lord, praying each day as you do for the Lord's spirit to show you out of His Word, more and more of our Savior. That's what we want to know. We want to be more like Him, and therefore we pray that God would bless His Word to us. We're going to start with number 88, O Come All Ye Faithful, and remain seated while we sing. We have two carols, and then our brother Alec Newell, no, sorry, the other one, Maher Lewis, is going to be coming and opening our meeting this afternoon in prayer. O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him. ♪ It is Christ alone ♪ ♪ Freedom, freedom ♪ ♪ Light of life eternal ♪ ♪ Glory and joys of heaven above ♪ ♪ Son of the Father, begotten of the angel ♪ ♪ Come down, let us adore him ♪ ♪ Come down, let us adore him ♪ ♪ Come down, let us adore him Christ the Lord ♪ Hail, all ye people, on this happy morning, Jesus, to thee be all glory given. Word of the Father, now in flesh O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. Well, if you want to know a deeper theological understanding of the incarnation and of Christ's birth and of his life and why he came to do what he did, turn to many of these Christmas carols and meditate on them, read over them, because the authors have so often captured so much of the sound theology of the Word of God, and they have presented that. And the one we just sang is another example of the same. Number 97. Number 97. Let's stand as we sing this. As we gladly spread our hope in the nightly starry light, as we joyfully fill this night with the honor we can find, ♪ Christ, the God who sent his Son ♪ ♪ To the lowly little one ♪ ♪ Pray to heaven, give him hope ♪ ♪ Give him heaven and earth as home ♪ ♪ So he may live with love and freedom ♪ ♪ Ever sing the praises of thee ♪ So fill me with holy joy, Keep us in the narrow way, and where there be pits or burrs, bring out their sons, souls, and minds, where they need no star to run, where no clouds ♪ He reigneth with the night ♪ ♪ Thou his light, his joy, his crown ♪ ♪ Thou his sun, his rose, and crown ♪ ♪ Ever, ever may we sing ♪ Amen. You may be seated. And you are singing well in praise to the Lord, especially after you are all fed up and full, and you want to try speaking after you have eaten a lot. It's not just always so easy, but singing is hard as well. But you're doing a great job. To the Lord's glory and praise. Now, precious words again that we have just been singing there. as they offered gifts most rare, the manger rude and bare. So may we, with holy joy, pure and free from sin's alloy. I like how the author, the hymn writer, put that. Oftentimes, the alloy of the world, the mixture of stuff can come into our life, and we do not want to offer unto the Lord that which is contaminated, so let our life, let the garden of our life be free from the weeds of sin, and let there not be flies in the ointment of the apothecary, no foxes that spoil the vine. but rather we will offer unto the Lord hearts that are pure unto him. Brother Lewis, please come and lead us in our opening prayer. Let us pray. Our loving Heavenly Father, we come to you in the precious and holy name of your Son and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to be in thy house, gathered to hear thy word. And we thank you, Lord, that we have joy and peace and wonderful blessings received from you. We thank you, Lord, that we can celebrate Lord Jesus Christ, His incarnation, His suffering, His humiliation, His death, His resurrection, His ascension and glorification, and now His intercession for us. Thank you, Lord, for Christ Jesus, the sinless child of God, who came, suffered, and died for us. And at this time, we thank you, Lord, again for all what you have done. We thank you, Lord, for the blood that was shed to cleanse us from all our sin and guilt. And thank you for adopting us into thy family. As we remember these things, Lord, at this time, we thank you again for this year that has gone by, and we remember so many times, Lord, your blessings, your guidance, your help, each step of the way you have been with us and we thank you lord for it and we thank you lord that you never leave us nor forsake us we can trust you we have hope we have joy we have peace no matter what we face, we still have that relationship with you that will never be severed. Thank you, Lord, for all these things. Thank you for your word. Thank you for your truth. And we thank Lord again for those that have a harder cross to bear. We think of them, Lord, and we ask you please to comfort and strengthen and encourage and be with them, even those that are not able to come into thy house at this time. We pray, Lord, in their houses that you be with them and be with those here that require your touch. We think of our brother and Mrs. Bennet. Lord, at this time of bereavement, we pray, Lord, for them as they go to their homes. to their family at this time. Be with them and comfort and strengthen them, Lord. And as we come to the end of this year, Lord, may we examine our hearts, see what things we have failed you in and help us, Lord, to drop any baggage that hinders our walk on the straight and narrow way. Help us to keep our eyes on the prize in the end of life. Help us, Lord, as we prepare to cross to another year. So, Lord, be with us now. Fill us with Thy Spirit. Bless this service. Encourage the hearts. And if there is anybody, Lord, that still hasn't come to know Thee as their own Lord and Savior, may they hear the truth and come and Surrender to thy will. So accept our thanks in Jesus name. Amen. Number 94, a little town of Bethlehem. Remain seated while we sing. ♪ O little town of Bethlehem ♪ ♪ How still we see thee run ♪ ♪ O'er the plain where three bears stood ♪ Our voices, full of praise, can gather all the world. O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord! We have sung it through the mountains in his name. So God imparts to him records from the sins of his name. Your will be done in this world, and in this world. O Holy Child of Bethlehem, we send you thus we pray, Very good, very good. Well, we have two groups that will be coming to sing at this time. First of all, our boys and girls, some more of them from our Sunday school classes. They're going to come and sing first of all, and then our young adult group is going to come after that. Boys and girls, please come. In a little village of Bethlehem, there lay a child one day. And the sky was bright with the holy light, o'er the place where Jesus lay. Alleluia, oh how the angels sang Alleluia, how it rang And the sky was bright with a holy light T'was the birthday of a King ♪ Was a humble proclamation of how much God gave to us that day ♪ ♪ From a major bend, what a path was led, what a perfect holy way ♪ Alleluia, O how the angels sang. Alleluia, how it rang. And the sky was bright with a holy light. Twas the birthday of a king. through chapter two, verses 25 to 32. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents had brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms and blessed God. Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy Word. For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, in which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel. Come, Christians, join to sing, Alleluia, Amen. Love, praise to Christ our King, Alleluia, Amen. ♪ Let all with heart and voice ♪ ♪ Before his throne rejoice ♪ ♪ Praise is his gracious choice ♪ ♪ Alleluia, amen ♪ ♪ Come lift your hearts on high ♪ ♪ Alleluia, amen ♪ He is our guide and friend. To us he'll kindly send. His love shall never end. Hallelujah, amen. you I received thy throne and thy kingly crown when thou camest to earth for me. But in Bethlehem's home was there found no room for thy holy nativity. Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus. Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus. Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus. There is room in my heart for Thee. Arches rang when the angels sang, proclaiming the royal decree. But of lowly birth didst thou come to earth, and in great humility. O come to my heart, Lord Jesus! O come to my heart, Lord Jesus! O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee. When heaven's arches ring and her choir shall sing, and thy coming to victory, let thy voice call me home, saying, yet there is room, there is room at my side for thee. My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus, my heart shall My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus, when Thou comest and callest for me. Well, thank you, young people from the junior department of our Sunday school. I said boys and girls, and that sort of applies to some of them, and some of them are getting quite a bit older. But we're thankful that you participated, and also to the young adults in our Sunday school. We're going to sing again, please, number 106, while shepherds watch their flocks by night. Let's stand together. Our sheltered water, God's island, the seedbed of the ground, the angel of the Lord, given, and for each other grown. He rouseth ye, O mighty Lord, and seethes their troubled mind, and guides all great joy and grief to his unknown endime. To you, that made this town this day, his Lord God, The Savior, who is Christ the Lord, and this shall be the song. From heav'nly hilt there shall come to him that will display, ♪ And for them a blingin' shining crown ♪ ♪ Of angels praising God and God's ♪ ♪ Splendorous spiritual song ♪ ♪ All glory be to God on high ♪ ♪ And to the earth give thanks ♪ O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? Well, the ensemble that we have here has grown bigger, exponentially almost. Some more members have been added to that, and we're thankful. We enjoy the ministry of those who are gifted to be able to play instruments, both our organists and our pianists that are every Lord's Day, and the others who are also with us today. Happy that Richard is with us today as well. They are going to play a hymn now. They're going to play through two verses. The words will be on the screen, and you can watch, and then we will sing verses three and four. Now, one of the only problems is that Richard is being drowned out by all of these horns, so we're gonna put this microphone live, okay? I'm gonna bring it over just by Richard, so you might pick up a little bit of the violin as he's playing as well. Oh. ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ♪♪ ♪ The bell from heaven only tolls ♪ ♪ The stricken and the weak ♪ ♪ O bless the Son of Man ♪ ♪ Who came to save us all ♪ ♪ O'er the plains of New Zealand ♪ ♪ And rolling hills of gold ♪ ♪ Where many an innocent people ♪ ♪ Of young age were born ♪ ♪ And which to the world below ♪ ♪ Is here to stay ♪ Thank you very much, folks. That is very, very nice. At this time, we are going to have a ministry in song by our sister Betty. She's going to come and sing for us at this time. In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan. Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone. Snow had fallen. on snow, in the bleak midwinter long ago. Our God, heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain. Heaven and earth shall flee away. ♪ When he comes to reign ♪ ♪ In the bleak midwinter ♪ ♪ A stable place sufficed ♪ ♪ The Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ ♪ you What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part. Yet what can I give him? Give him my heart. Thank you, Betty, for sharing that today with us. Please, let me ask you to turn again in your Bibles. I want to bring you a brief devotional message, really following on from the theme of this morning, Titus chapter 2. Titus 2, verse 11, for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men. If you were not with us this morning in the service, I brought you first really three main points that I wanted to set before you, and I want to conclude our time today with concentrating really on the last phrase of verse 11, where the salvation of God has appeared unto all men. When you talk about the word salvation, it means different things to different people. Obviously, in the world, if you were to ask someone if they were saved, they really wouldn't get a grasp of what you are meaning, unless it had something to do with some deliverance that they had received from an accident, Maybe they had been out hiking and they fell and they had to call the emergency people to come and save them, or maybe in a car accident where they had to be cut out of their vehicle and they were saved by the paramedics. Something of that idea. But of course, when we bring that into biblical terms, And when we think about that from a Christian perspective, we have a totally different understanding of what the word being saved means and salvation. So emphasize this morning in our service, as we were thinking about, well, salvation, that subject and the very genesis of it, and the meaning behind it, It has been given to us by the Lord to represent something that is deep inside a human being, the soul, that needs to experience what is called salvation. It is not something that is optional for the human race. And I want you to think about that today. Think about it deeply. Because sometimes when people look at Christianity, they will say, well, it's just another religion among many. It's just another way of expressing your feelings, your beliefs, your thought toward whatever deity you happen to worship. But the Christianity that we have revealed in the Bible is not a religion per se. It is a revelation from the God of heaven. Now, of course, as a pastor, as a believer, I wholeheartedly and sincerely believe that in my heart. And I testify to you because I believe the Lord has opened my eyes, my spiritual understanding to grasp that and to see it that my soul is now saved today. I know that my sins have been forgiven. I know that when I die, I will be absent from my body and present with the Lord. But that's the same testimony that many of you have as well. But maybe some do not. And when we think about the imperative that Jesus said, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven. Except a person be saved, they cannot see the kingdom of heaven. That's what it's all about in this life. For Jesus asked the question, what shall it profit a man if he gained the whole world and yet lose his own soul? There is nothing so valuable as your eternal soul. And it doesn't have to be expanded on because your soul will live forever. It will live forever either with God in glory or separated from God in a lost eternity. And the account of the rich man and Lazarus that Jesus spoke of is a very telling one because it draws the curtain back between life and death and into eternity. And as the Lord communicated that story about Lazarus, who had nothing of this world's goods, but was sick with sores, and the dogs were the ones that came to give him comfort, but the rich man that had all of his plenty, that ate sumptuously every day of his life, they both were met together in equality in death. But after death, there was a big distinction. and the soul of the rich man was lost for all eternity. He is still in hell today. And Lazarus, who knew Christ and who was saved by the grace of God, is in glory with his Savior to this day. We have suffered bereavement in our congregation, as every church does, as every family does. And over the last many years, there are those that have been known to us, whom we have loved, but they're no longer here. They have gone on to be with the Lord, which is far better. But sadly, there are some that did not know the Lord. And that's a solemn reality. And you can see it all comes back and converges on the theme and the subject matter of salvation. It's no wonder then why the Apostle Paul spoke so freely about the grace of God in salvation. Thinking about that this morning, salvation is of the Lord. Jonah made that cry and plea. And upon what motivation did God decide to save a people that were unworthy? It was the motivation of His love. That's the only thing we have. We have nothing else. We did not offer anything. The Lord didn't look in our lives and think, there's a nice looking person, there's a person who has a lot to offer, I think I'll bring them into my kingdom. It wasn't like that at all. You know, some people wonder about the scripture that says, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. And wonder, how is it that God could hate Esau? I thought God was a God of love. But the greater wonder is how could he have ever loved Jacob? Because Jacob was a sinner just like Esau. And you see, the Lord set his love upon him, and it was his grace that has worked in our hearts and lives to this day. And we can say that the requirement that God did require to enter heaven was perfect righteousness, which none of us had until Our Lord Jesus came to die on the cross and he transferred or imputed his righteous living to me, my life. and I imputed to him my sin and iniquity. And that great transaction that occurred on Calvary, and as a result of the atoning work of Christ, it's the reason why we have a hope that is not ever going to be taken away. The salvation that we have is something unconditional and unmerited, and the Lord has blessed us with it. We thought, too, about how Christ was born in Bethlehem and all of the details that had to come together to make that happen. You think of a timetable working and the clock ticking and how the plan was in place from before the foundation of the world until that moment in time when the fullness of time was come that Mary would bring forth that child. And the detail of time and the detail of place and the detail of purpose, it all had to be there, and it was. And God revealed his sovereign plan and purpose in such a way, and that timetable was not disrupted. Salvation was brought to us. We did not go to get it. We did not seek God. As a matter of fact, we do not seek the Lord. God sought and seeks for us. And He extends His Spirit to convict us of our sin. And He opens to our hearts the Word of God and the wonder of Christ from the Word. And so that divine operation of grace in our lives opens our thinking and opens our soul to see that we are a sinner. and that Christ is the only Savior of our souls. And when we see that, the Lord gives us the faith and the grace to receive that gift and draw it to our hearts. And when we have done that, the Lord has promised, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Him that cometh to me, Jesus said, I will in no wise, I will in no way cast out. If you have come to Christ for salvation, He will not turn you away. He has made that promise. Briefly, as we bring our time and our day to a close, I want you to think really in the fourth point today about salvation is only through Christ. to all men. Look at the last phrase, please, again, of verse 11. Salvation hath appeared to all men. I love how it's put in Luke 19 and verse 10. These are the words of Christ. He said, the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. and the Lord sought us until he found us. And when we think about the grace of God and salvation being extended to all humanity, it is again another measure and an example. We think about the extent of what this involves. It says to all men. In the Old Testament, God communicated to Israel as a nation, and He gave to them His holy oracle. He gave to them His law. He revealed to that nation, to that people, and He specifically showed it to them, and not to the Hittites, not to the Amalekites, not to the Canaanites. It wasn't to any of those in Ur of the Chaldees, apart from one man. And you see, the Lord, by His sovereign grace, chose that nation that He would reveal His will and His purpose and His scriptures to them. And so as he communicated to primarily Israel, there were some Gentiles that were converted in the Old Testament. And it's rather ironic that when our Lord Jesus began his ministry in Nazareth, and he spoke a prophecy from the book of Isaiah, and then he also communicated how that Elijah went to the widow of Zarephath, when there were many others who were in famine and starving in Israel, yet he went to a Gentile woman. And of course, at that point, the Jews in Nazareth took up stones to stone him because they felt how dare he think of exalting how God would reach out to these other peoples. But that's the heart and the soul of God, and it has been that way from the beginning of time. Though in the Old Testament, there were ones and twos, threes and fours, a few in number, who were outside of the nation of Israel that were brought in. And you know about Rahab the harlot, how she was saved. And God, by his providence, made her part of the lineage of Christ. She is in the line of the Lord Jesus. And we think of Naaman the Syrian, how the leper was not only healed of his leprosy, but Naaman, it will be in glory and we will see him as well. And there were those ones who were under the grace of God. In the New Testament though, there was a greater fulfillment. And in the early church, the gospel door opened through Cornelius and through what God did with the apostle Peter, and the gospel was preached to the Gentile world beginning then, and it spread like wildfire. I'm so happy that the boys and girls today in the Sunday school were quoting that portion of Luke 2 that we read this morning, and I did not realize they were memorizing that portion, but that was precious, and it speaks about Simeon. and how God had revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ. Did you pick up on the prophecy that Simeon quoted about how the gospel would be spread to the Gentile world? That was from the very beginning. The birth of Christ was the word to show us that salvation will be to all men, to all humanity, to all peoples. And my dear friends, from that time, the good news, the gospel message, the evangel, it has spread to every nation, to every culture, to every language, and every people group. And look today around you in our own church. What a tremendous blessing to see people of every color, every stripe, almost every country in the world, at least many of them, nationalities, many. What a blessing this is because this is we are seeing and realizing and indeed reaping the benefit and the fulfillment of that very prophecy. Sometimes perhaps you have heard the expression, free offer of the gospel. What that simply means is that we believe very strongly that as the gospel of salvation is presented either by the pulpit or by the individual witnessing and sowing the seed, we give out to men, women, boys, and girls the free offer of the gospel. It simply means that as we preach Christ and preach about the need for repentance and preach salvation and the new birth, We are not excluding ones we don't think, well, that doesn't apply to you. No, I don't think that's good for you. No, I'm not preached to you. That's not the preacher's responsibility. When the salvation, the gospel goes to all men, it goes to all humanity, and therefore we proclaim the wonder of the free offer of the gospel. The question is today, if you do not know Him, what will you do? with this invitation today. You're watching online perhaps, and I can't see you, but you can see me. And we wonder, what friend will you do with the offer of the gospel? Will you accept or reject? Because as the hymn writer put it, what will you do with Jesus? Neutral, you cannot be. Because if someone says, well, I'm really kind of undecided on this matter. I don't know whether I'm gonna accept him or reject him. You've already rejected. Because man is born in sin and shaped in iniquity. And we are under the judgment, the condemnation of God because of our sin. And if we're saying today, let me think about that a little bit. I'll not decide now, I'll decide later. Maybe some more convenient season, I'll come to the Lord. You have made your decision today to reject the Lord. No, my friend, I say to you, no, open your heart to receive Him, because He is the Savior of your soul. He is the only Savior of your soul. Religion can't save you. Church membership cannot save you. Baptism cannot save you. It's only Christ and faith alone in Him that can save you. Well, I think also about the evidence, not just the extent of salvation. It tells us that God's salvation has appeared. It has appeared. One of the silent and yet very obvious impact of Christ on this world is the calendar. People don't think about it, really, at all. But every time you read a date on your calendar, and it's written on your bank statement, it's written on your credit card statement, which around this time of the year will be getting quite high, I can imagine, by a lot of people spending a lot of money that they don't have, and they're hoping to pay off maybe sometime January, February. But nonetheless, that date is there, 2024. 2025, every time you see a date that's marked down, it is a testimonial, very silent in many ways, a testimony to the introduction of that one human that has made the greatest impact on the entire world, the birth of Christ. And when I say human, because you remember in Luke 19, verse 10, he said, for the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. And we emphasize the humanity of Jesus directly connected with his deity. Why? Because if he was not a human being, he could not be our savior. He had to enter in to become bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. That's why he was born of Mary. His humanity is real. And the great wonder of the incarnation is that when Christ left the glory of heaven, the Son of God came down to be born of a baby and become a man. He continues to this very day to be both God and man. That will never ever go back to the way it was before. This is what Christ did in order to save us. This is what he did to save sinners. He took on our nature, he took on our form, but he did so without sin. The world rejects the Lord. They will not accept the evidences, in fact, Atheist and agnostic will often say that God, if He exists, has not given enough evidence that He is real. Mark Twain, the author, he said, it's not the things in the Bible that I don't understand that trouble me. It's the things that I do. Think about it. The evidence is there, but it is the heart of man that is rejecting God and resisting the Creator that says, no, I will not receive this. Romans chapter one, the apostle makes that very clear, They have decided to exclude God from their thinking. They have decided to shut him aside. But the evidence is there. Many arguments may be raised to justify man's rejection of Christ, the way of salvation, but the evidence, it stands. If a man, if a woman will receive it, Christ has come. and with him salvation appeared. And in the appearance of that, man now is without excuse. There is no one that's going to be able to stand before God in the judgment day and say, I didn't have enough evidence. There wasn't enough proof. If you had to give me a bit more, I would have. You not remember what the rich man said to Abraham? He said, if you would send someone back from the dead to my brothers that were still living, they will indeed repent and turn so that they'll not come to the same place where I am. And Abraham had to say to him, no. He says, if they will not receive Moses and the testimony of the Word of God, they will not believe, though one should rise from the dead. There is undoubtedly a reference there to the resurrection of Christ from the dead, because he has risen and is alive today, and yet people will still say, no, I will not believe. One final thought, and it just has to do with simply the urgency, the urgency of it all. I say urgency because, well, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. And friend, we have seen people pass from us from the beginning of 2024. Their chairs are now empty. Their places are vacant. And who knows what will happen in the next year of the seats that will be vacant, maybe even here from our fellowship. And so the point is, we do not know when we will go. And in one sense, it's a good thing we don't know, but it's time now to make preparation. And that's the point. The gospel is prepare to meet thy God, prepare now Don't think about preparing after you have died and you stand before the Lord. It's too late then. There is no second chance. The opportunity now is presented by the Lord and in the gospel. And that's what we give to you and say again, I'm simply a signpost. I'm simply one that's pointing, look to Christ for salvation alone. And now is the time that you will end this year in him. Don't end this year without Him, because friend, we don't know what a day will bring forth. I pray that the Lord will richly bless you and encourage you during this Christmas time with your family, as you bring the year to a close, and then as we launch forward into a new year, if God allows us to have that time. As we bring our time to a close today, I had a special request, actually from Dr. McClellan, that we would have a solo by the late Howard Saunders, my dad. My dad served as an elder in our congregation here from the beginning of the church, really back in 1968, when the church founded as a Bible Presbyterian church, but then more directly in 1976, when we became a free Presbyterian ministry and we started here. And so his ministry was not public speaking, but his ministry was more in song. And so, as we listen to this, may the Lord bless it to you, and then we will sing joy to the world as our final hymn today. Last night I lay a-sleeping There came a dream so fair I stood in old Jerusalem Beside the temple there I heard the children singing And ever as they sang, methought the voice of angels from heaven in answer rang. ♪ Methought the voice of angels ♪ From heaven in answer rang ♪ Jerusalem, Jerusalem Lift up your gates and sing Hosanna in the highest Hosanna to your king And then methought my dream was changed The streets no longer rang. Hushed were the glad hosannas. The little children sang. The sun grew dark with mystery. The morn was cold. until as the shadow of a cross arose upon a lonely hill, as the shadow of a cross arose upon a lone Jerusalem, Jerusalem, hark how the angels sing. In the highest, Hosanna to your King. And once again the scene was changed. New Earth there seemed to be. I saw the holy city beside the tideless sea. The light of God was on its streets. The gates were opened wide And all who would might enter And no one was denied No need of moon or stars by night ♪ For sun to shine by day ♪ It was the new Jerusalem ♪ That would not pass away ♪ It was the new Jerusalem Jerusalem, that would not pass away. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Sing for the night is over Hosanna in the highest Hosanna forevermore Hosanna In the heart of Santa forevermore. Sorry that my mom could not be here today. She is not doing well. She has been not feeling well the last few days, actually. But then it maybe is one good thing she's not here. It would be hard to keep a dry eye if she had heard her dear husband singing that song again. We're going to close our time today by singing Joy to the World. Let's stand, please, to sing. True to the word of the Lord is done, and ever we sing again. ♪ And every heart prepare Him room ♪ ♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪ ♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪ ♪ And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing ♪ ♪ Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns ♪ The world is filled with sorrows now, the Lord defends the ground. He comes to make his message known for us and for his love, for us and for his love, for us and for us. Before we sing this final stanza, we're going to have the instruments play through once for this verse, and then we will all lift up our voice. It gives you a little bit of a rest now to take a deep breath, because we come to this final stanza, we want to really lift the roof. Let's listen, please. He rules the world with death and grace, and makes the nations grow. the glories of his righteousness, and wonders of his love, and wonders of his love, and wonders, wonders of his love. Father, as we bring our service to a close this afternoon, We are filled, Lord, with praises to your great and holy name. Dear Lord, so great is the salvation we have received. So merciful, Lord, you have been to us. We will never be able to repay, never be able to give praise enough But Lord, with the life that we have and the days that you permit us to live, I pray that we will be zealous for our God, that we will glorify Christ in this congregation, that we will all grow in likeness to him. And Father, once more again, We do ask to work in the hearts of any who are not saved at this point. Bring them to the foot of the cross. Hear our prayer. Bless us, Lord, we pray, until we meet again. In Jesus' holy name, amen. You. Yeah.